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Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

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Sloppy Heads: Sometimes Just One Second (Shrimper Records) – Album Review

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

If you took The Pixies, The Velvet Underground, The Black Lips, and The Jesus And Mary Chain and threw them in a blender and ground ’em up real good, you would end up with the essence of Sloppy Heads. This is just what the doctor ordered if you like your music noisy and a little sloppy. And when I say sloppy, I am talking in a good way. How is sloppy good, you ask? I’m glad you brought that up. Sloppy in this context means not terribly worried about playing everything note for note. Leaving room for improvisation and focusing more on the groove and the chemistry of the musicians rather than just the technical aspects of the music. I guess a synonym would be “looseness”. But that is a very touchy thing. There is a balancing act. You can’t be too loose or too tight and Sloppy Heads get it “just right”.

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Maia Sharp: Reckless Thoughts (Crooked Crown Records) – Album Review

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Singer/Songwriter Maia Sharp has been doing it a long time. This is her 30th year in the music biz. Although not a household name yet, she has made many significant contributions in her own solo career as well as working with other artists. Reckless Thoughts is Maia’s ninth solo effort. Along with those releases, Maia has worked with many well established artists such as Cher, Trisha Yearwood, Terri Clark, Bonnie Raitt, Edwin McCain, and Art Garfunkel. That’s a pretty impressive list of artists.

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Beth Bombara: It All Goes Up (Black Mesa Records) – Album Review

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Beth did it again. She released another fantastic album that really deserves some serious attention. She doesn’t have a big machine behind her or an unlimited budget. Despite these hurdles, Beth delivers a release that has the sound and feel of a major label release. A professional band, sublime vocals and harmonies, great songwriting, and top notch production and engineering.

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